Railway-spike



(No Model.)

0` Z. GOUTANT.

RAILWAY SPIKE.

Patented Sept. 10, 1895.

MIME

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SPECIFICATION forming pari? 0f Letters Patent N0. 546,269, (latedSeptenlber 10, 1 895.

Application filed March 26, 1894. Serial No. 505,151 (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR ZERAH COUTANT, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and usefnllmprovements in Railway-Spikes, ofwhich the following is a true and faithful description.

The object of my invention is to provide a railway-spike which shallbeeasy to drive and which, shall combine the characteristics of aminimum of weight and a maximum of holding capacity; and to these endsthe invention consists in the construction hereinafter described andclaimed.

ln the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention and formpart of this specification, Figure 1 represents a front View, Fig. 2 alside view, Fig. 3 a rear view, and Fig. i a cross-section, as on theline fi 4, of a spike embodying the features of my invention.

The body of the spike is triangular in crosssection, with a longitudinalV-shaped groove a. in the rear side thereof extending from near the headentirely to the point, the depth of said groove being equal,approximately, to one-half the thickness of the spike from front torear, as indicated by the broken line in Fig. 2.

The spike has a flanged head b, which overhangs the front edge, as at c,Figs. l and 2, and between said flanged head and the body portion thesides are hollowed out, as at d d, to form a neck c, the rear side ofwhich extends out beyond the body portion, as bestseen in Fig. 2. Theoverhang c forms the holding portion of the head, and this is somewhatbelow the flanges b, the object of this construction being to leavespace below said ilanges when the spike is fully driven for the entranceof the claws of a clawdoar or other implement for drawing the spike whennecessary or desirable to remove it.

The spike is pointed by beveling the sides and edges thereof to thebottom of the groove d, the beveled portion being of suiiicient lengthto form an easy driving-point.

The flaring sides of the spike are provided both on their front and rearfaces with upwardly-pointing teeth or serrations f f, extending entirelyacross and inclining upward and outward from the inner and outer angles.These teeth subserve the purpose of barbs to prevent withdrawal of thespike, and by inclining them as shown the length of their holding edgesor faces is increased and they are given greater holding capacity.

When the spike is driven into wood, the severed fibers of the latter areturned or bent down at both sides, so that they abut directly againstthe tops of the teeth, the result being that when the spike is drawn thebent fibers in straightening ont under the action of the teeth closetoward each other from opposite sides and clamp and hold the spikes withincreased resistance.

It will be apparent that inasmuch as the bent fibers stand in angularrelation to the surfaces of the spike against which they bear the linesof resistance when a drawing force is applied to the spike will be inthe direction of the length of the fibers, instead of across the same,the libres thus acting as braces against the top of the teeth.

Having now described my invention, I claiin- A railway spike Vshaped incross section provided with the head herein described and having on itsinner and outer surfaces upwardly pointing teeth or serrations extendingentirely across and inclining from the angles outward and upward,substantially as shown and described.

OSCAR ZERAH COUTANT.

Witnesses:

J. B. JOHNSTON, J. W. PENTZER.

